Who were they Where did they come from

Who were they? Where did they come from? What did they accomplish? Where did they go? THE MINOANS AND MYCENAEANS

Minoan civilization arose on the island of Crete.

LEGACY (OR GIFT FROM THE PAST) Their legacy was being masters of the sea and great shipbuilders.

BULL LEAPING Bull leaping or bull fighting was both a sport and a religious ceremony. Don’t try this at home.

THE PALACE One of the largest cities on Crete was Knossos. A great palace was located there the Palace of Knossos where the legendary King Minos lived.

THE PALACE HAD SEVERAL PASSAGEWAYS.

LABYRINTH The palace had a network of paths through which it was difficult to find one’s way. Labyrinth means double ax so the palace was called the “House of the Double Ax. ” In this labyrinth, it is said, lived a Minotaur - a beast that was half man and half bull.

WHY DID THEY END? No one is certain why Minoan civilization came to an end. But about 1400 B. C. , control of the sea and Crete passed to the Mycenaeans.

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? The Mycenaeans came from the grasslands of southern Russia to the lowlands of Greece. They traded with and learned much from the Minoans.

TROJAN WAR/HOMER’S ILIAD The Mycenaeans went to war with Troy because Troy was controlling a trade route and unfairly taxing ships going from southern Russia to Greece.

THE ILIAD About 500 years later, a blind Greek poet, Homer, told the story of the Trojan war - but not quite exactly as it happened.

F E C A OF E P T U A O O T EM D H E T N E R U OV T E R R D R S E AN V E I N OR S D N E A E TH A N. E E C C Y N M E E. E T C H IS E T X E E R G A DARK AGE U L

THE DARK AGE The Mycenaeans settled in the Aegean islands and on the western shore of Asia Minor. Later, this was known as Ionia.

ONE STEP BACK. . . This began a time of wandering and killing. Trade stopped. Many skills were forgotten including how to read and write, fresco painting, working with ivory and gold, etc.

HERE WE GO AGAIN. . . The people had to create a new civilization on their own beginning with herding and farming.

A NEW NAME: Eventually they developed independent communities and began calling themselves Hellenes, or Greeks.

THE REST IS HISTORY.